Just a quick heads up that I've uploaded (successfully) another
Trainz (TS12) route to the DLS. Actually, it's more of a doodle than a behomoth
being based on the old Dalmunzie estate railway in the Grampian mountains of
Scotland. With a fictional extension to Spital of Glenshee it's only around
4 miles in length, but I'm secretly quite pleased with it. To download you will
need to be running the latest version of TS12, open CMP and search either for
Dalmunzie or KUID2:30024:20252:1 . Unfortunately after building the route I
discovered there's not a whole lot of narrow gauge stock (especially 2ft gauge)
on the DLS so you may need to search external sites like
Trainzone or
SubPar for suitable items.

Just to confirm my Mount Hood route for Trainz TS12 has now
gone live, however for now I could only upload at Trainsim.com
due to issues getting it on the N3V DLS. So if you're a member at TS, just log
in and do a search for file mthood.zip . NB: You'll need to install the cdp's
via the Trainz Content Manager and obtain the required dependencies from the
DLS.

In other news, it looks as if the Zusi 3 demo has received another
update. Grab it via
this page. Hopefully that means full release not far away though I'm still
not holding my breath.

27th September 2012

I've just updated the Railworks page with a few thoughts on
RSC's latest incarnation of their game, now known as TS2013.

In other news, I'm getting quite close to releasing another
route for Trainz (TS12) based on the Mount Hood Railroad in Oregon USA. It's
just undergoing final testing and it will be uploaded to the N3V/Auran DLS in
the next few days. More information to follow.

9 September 2012

Unless you've been living under a train simming rock for the
last few weeks, you've probably read elsewhere that Railsimulator.com are undertaking
their round of annual changes to the Railworks programme. First off, it will
be called Train Simulator 2013 (TS2013) and it appears all references to Railworks
have been dropped. Detail on core changes of particular interest to simulation
enthusiasts are thin on the ground, but what has been announced is support for
the XBox 360 (PC) game controller to drive a train, a new "Quick Drive"
feature to get started on a route quickly and access to Steam Workshop which
is essentially a repository for user created material.

The upgrade path is also somewhat complicated.

Existing users of Railworks 3 will get the TS2013 upgrade but
no additional content.

However as TS2013 includes new routes, in a departure from the
normal Steam process existing users will be allowed to order TS2013 and add
it to their existing install as a means of getting the routes cheap. The new
routes are Sherman Hill (US), London to Brighton (UK), the reworked Isle of
Wight (UK) and the Northeast Corridor (US). Of these only Sherman Hill is not
already available as payware DLC. There was also mention of a German high speed
route (Munich to Augsburg) but this is not referenced on the UK Steam order
page.

The sting in the tail is that all new users to TS2013 will only
get the "new" routes. They won't get the original routes such as Somerset
and Dorset, Cajon Pass etc. or the associated motive power and rolling stock.
More importantly they won't get the assets in the original Kuju folders. That
means new users to TS2013 will not be able to use 99.9% of the existing freeware
(and some payware) which relies on these assets. Now it appears RSC are working
on some method of making this content available via Steam, but whether this
will be complimentary or paid for remains to be seen.

What this may lead to in practice is multiple levels of TS2013
ownership, depending on which content you have and when you started with the
programme. In my view, not good news at all for the hobby (freeware) developer
or the independent payware producer for that matter. More to follow when TS2013
arrives...

I'm happy to report that things are going a little better with
Run 8 now than when I posted 3 days ago and I have managed to (almost) haul
a freight train up from Bakersfield to the summit at Tehachapi. Put it down
33% to user error (me), 66% to the erratic documentation and 1% bad luck! I've
started work on the review but it will be a fairly lengthy process as it is
not the easiest title to evaluate. Already evident from the forums much divided
opinion over all sorts of aspects and those also need to be taken into account,
not to mention compensating for my own lack of interest in multiplayer which
of course is the primary means for which the sim has been designed.

27th August 2012

Run 8 was released a few days ago and I'm currently evaluating
with a view to writing up a full review. However, in the meantime the following
extract from a post I made at Trainsim.com on the "First Impressions"
thread may be of interest/use:

"Install went easily enough but game
wouldn't run. A passive check of the Run8 forum revealed this likely to be because
I hadn't installed the XNA framework. Sure enough, found that and after installing
able to get Run 8. A minor hurdle but given this is a retail product, would
have been better if the installer checked the user's system for XNA and offer
to install if not found.

Front end menu, well... This is not a very good shopfront at all for the product.
As noted elsewhere the manual/help screens have not yet been written. To start
a run in SP mode there's a list of train headcodes (to use the UK terminology)
on the RHS of the screen, but no description as to what the trains are in terms
of power, consist or starting location. I happen to know that the BKDOU (or
similar) is the loaded oil tanks from Bakersfield over to Mojave which seemed
a good place to start.

After poring over the keyboard instructions posted at TS.com I eventually grasped
that I needed to move towards the train in freeview mode and select the lead
engine to get on board. Up pops a menu with various parameters, I opted for
quick start and quick handbrake release. Ctrl-F11 is not exactly mnenomic to
get in the cab, but once aboard and set the switches and breakers as described
in the forums, there was a nagging EOT message on the MFD. This meant getting
off the loco and "walking" (quick travel didn't work) to the rear
of the train to set the EOT. Once that was done Ctrl-F11 put me back in the
front cab and we're off to Mojave - or so I thought.

At this point a word about the Despatcher screen. It is beautifully designed
and a credit to the artist but... the most important functionality - interlocking
- appears non-existent. I was able to clear signals in opposite directions which
would have caused a collision, I was able to clear signals with points set against
them and able to move points while the signal was cleared over them. I also
noticed passage of the train was not putting signals back to red behind it.
So never mind the kiddies getting in a MMO session and causing havoc, it would
be quite easy for whoever is acting as despatcher to overlook something and
with no interlocking cause a collision or derailment.

Meanwhile back on the "high iron", chugging along merrily, progress
did not exactly seem very gainful, the 1% grade up to Sandcut having reduced
speed to around 18 MPH. On a hunch, I called up the DPU screen on the MFD to
see if the locos behind mine were working but nothing shown. So it appears (correct
me if I'm wrong) on the train prep you need to individually start each loco?
Also appears you need to nominate the lead DPU but should that be the loco behind
the head end unit or the first mid-train? I know, I'll Read The Flipping Manual
- oh dear, there isn't one.

In order to do this I had stopped
the train. Following the procedure detailed in one of the text documents I applied
Notch 2, released the brakes and promptly started to roll back. Obviously still
not got all the locos powering so I went to apply the brakes (which BTW I'm
assuming are self lapped positional rather than set and lap) to find there was
no pressure in the system, the compressor running was not recharging the main
res - eek... runaway!

At this point I did a Casey Jones and jumped to drive another day, i.e. exited
the programme.

BTW the Save function is undocumented and only found after scrutinising the
Run 8 forum.

Anyhow in conclusion. I actually think Run 8 has great potential but it has
tremendous wrinkles and strikes me as still being a work in progress. This should
never have been put out in such a raw state and needed a couple of months extra
to tidy things up, put a decent front end on it and write up some decent documentation.
It is definitely a product for the hardcore simmer. Anyone coming straight from
driving a Class 166 turbo in Railworks is going to be in for a massive shock.
The learning curve is almost vertical. Run 8 would benefit from a proper structured
tutorial and in addition to Tehachapi maybe they should have included a shorter,
flat route where noobs could cut their teeth on basic train handling before
attempting to traverse the mountains. I think it is worth persevering with but
it needs tidying up by the developer fairly quickly and the lack of interlocking
on the signalling is a major bug that shouldn't have made it through beta."

15th May 2012

From information gleaned off various forums, it appears the
author of the excellent OpenBVE programme has decided to call it a day and cease
further development on the simulation. Some more information can be found looking
through posts at the
BVE Worldwide forum and it does appear as if others are intending to step
up to the plate and try to keep things going. However it is nevertheless still
a sad moment for the train sim hobby as OpenBVE complemented the original BVE
programme and included some powerful features, such as the ability to mix and
match routes and trains without having to rewrite the route csv files.

2012 so far not proving to be one of the better years for the
train sim hobby, apart from Railworks and its rampant payware big business model,
we have had no further news on Zusi 3 despite last year's demo version (it's
been nearly six months), still nothing concrete from Cascade Game Foundry as
to whether they're doing a train sim and apart from Run 8 which I mentioned
in January not much new on the horizon. At this rate I will be reinstalling
FSX or buying Flight!!

10th May 2012

Myself and UK Trainsim... Just a quick note to advise
that I will no longer be posting on the UKTS forum, having closed my "bigvern"
account after some ten years of membership. My views on Railworks and its developer
have led to friction previously with the moderation policy over there and this
spiked again yesterday evening following a rather forthright expression of my
views about the subject of DLC withdrawals by the publisher/developer. From
a warning message sent to me, it appears I am (was) regarded as a disruptive
influence (me!!). So rather than suffer the ignominy of being banned I decided
to fall on my sword and terminate my membership.

In practical terms this means I will no longer be able to provide
any support on their forum for my work hosted on the UKTS file library. I have
already removed a few minor files, scenarios etc. which were largely obsolete
or run their course anyway. I am still considering what to do with my Railworks
routes hosted there and will leave in place for at least the next couple of
weeks, but with my interest in Railworks fast dwindling and the advent of much
better content both freeware and from the DLC factory I am seriously thinking
about retiring them. My own path now lies in developing content for Trainz as
I feel Railworks no longer represents the kind of community sim I campaigned
for and have much interest in supporting.

I still intend to remain active on the various other forums
I frequent, particularly Trainsim.com (as NorthernWarrior) and the N3V Trainz
forum (as Vern).

2nd May 2012

Further to my note on 21st April, Railsimulator.com have clarified
what users can and cannot do with assets from DLC content. The full text is
reproduced here
on their Facebook Page. (Apologies for linking to Facebook but it
seems that is RSC's preferred method of communication these days). So my interpretation
and that of the general community, is that so far as route building is concerned
it is okay to reference assets from RSC DLC, providing this is not actually
packaged and bundled with the route.

23rd April 2012

The Swindon to Cirencester route for Trainz TS12 is now available
on the Auran/N3V DLS.

21st April 2012

Work on my current route project, the Swindon to Cirencester
railway for Trainz TS12, is almost complete and should be uploaded over the
weekend to the N3V (Auran) Download Station. I've put together a short page
with some information about the project, here.

Those of you who follow the Railworks forums may be aware of
an issue that has popped up in the last couple of days. Following a response
by Railsimulator.com Technical Support to a query, it appears route builders
should not be using (referencing) assets in their own projects from routes purchased
as official RSC/Steam DLC. Apparently we are only allowed to use the default
assets supplied with the core game. This has caused considerable concern amongst
route builders as many publicly released freeware projects (including some of
mine) reference assets from various DLC's released over the life of the sim.
I have emailed RSC support myself requesting clarification and thus far have
received a holding message to say they are considering the matter. So my advice
to Railworks route builders is, it might be worth hanging fire ticking all those
developer boxes on your latest route project, if it turns out you shouldn't
be using the items (even though they are only referenced and their use guarantees
more DLC sales for RSC... ).

18th January 2012

Best wishes to everyone for the New Year (a little late I know)
and hoping 2012 will see further improvements to our train simming hobby. I
can certainly start the ball rolling with a couple of pieces of good news:

Digital
Traction are a well respected maker of add on content for Railworks, their
collection of Mark One coaches are pretty much essential to augment the default
types. The developer is currently running a "blowout" sale on all
items, at 75% off. That means for example the Class 40 which normally costs
£10.00 plus VAT can be purchased for £2.50 + VAT = £3.00.
I've just purchased several pieces including the Class 40 and can vouch that
these are quality add-ons which will provide many hours of enjoyment. The Class
40 in particular is very nicely modelled with a superb cab and sound set - an
excellent rendition of these iconic machines. The sale runs until 25th January
so you have a week or so to take advantage of the offer.

Many people will remember 3D TrainStuff as a developer and publisher
of add-on content for MSTS and I was involved many years ago now with their
first Cambrian Coast pack, as lead route builder. They have just announced via
a company called Run 8,
that they are developing an all new train simulation programme for release later
this year. Not much more information other than what's on their site at present,
but the preview pictures of the Tehachapi (?) route look very compelling. Hopefully
I'll have more to report on this as the year unfolds.